As Big Ten basketball fans, this is what you dream of. Battle and Taylor are two of the top guards in the entire league and today they'll square off with one another. Taylor says Battle is the quickest guard in the league. Battle would probably say Taylor is one of the strongest in the league. Something has to give today. I'd give the edge to Taylor simply because he doesn't turn the ball over. When playing on the road, that's incredibly important.

Leading into his triple-double, the first in UW history, Badger coaches were pressing Gasser toward being more aggressive. It worked. With the confidence of doing something never done before in school history in his back pocket, look for Gasser to remain assertive at the off-guard position.

Jackson is one of three Penn State players averaging double figures during conference play. Like the rest of his teammates, Jackson is more athletic than he's given credit for. His numbers from downtown aren't great, but he is shooting a solid percentage from the field. Jarmusz will need to be defensively sound in this one.

While Gasser was taking the court by storm, Leuer was quietly putting together another very solid effort at Northwestern. The senior forward is averaging better than 19 points per game and approximately seven rebounds per game. He is simply a matchup nightmare for most teams that face him.

This will be an intriguing matchup because Brooks and Nankivil are remarkably similar. Both are bigs that can shoot the ball and both are averaging around 13 points per outing. They are both the third scoring threat on their team and both aren't afraid to play physical defense. Determining this matchup will depend on who can stay out of foul trouble and who plays better defense.

Last time out Bruesewitz chipped in 10 points. He was one of five Badgers to finish that game with double-digit scoring. UW will need more of that as the season progresses because eventually one, two or all three of the Badgers go-to scorers will have a rough outing. Then the bench will need to help out in order for UW to claim victory.

Bo Ryan has had the utmost success against Penn State. Having won 13 straight in the series, it's hard to think of anything else happening to this Badger squad during this game. But, then again, this seems to be a different Penn State squad. With huge wins already under their belt at home against Illinois and Michigan State, and a near win at Ohio State, the Nittany Lions will provide a strong test to the Badgers.